Royal remembered and revered for his wins, wit, warmth

By Mike Finger |
November 7, 2012
| Updated: November 7, 2012 10:10pm

Former Texas head football coach Darrell Royal is shown at his apartment complex Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, in Austin, Texas. He began as head coach of the Longhorns 50 years ago.

10/1970 -- University of Texas football Coach Darrell Royal with running back Steve Worster. HOUCHRON CAPTION (10/07/2005) SECSPTS: RED RIVER SHOOTOUT 100 TIMES THE RIVALRY

Photo By Rod Aydelotte

Texas football coach Mack Brown, left, gives the "hook 'em horns" sign next to former coach Darrell Royal, right, at a reception before the induction for the 2012 class of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte) at a reception before the induction for the 2012 class of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2012 in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald,

Photo By Sam Pierson

In 1966, Texas' Darrell Royal was well on his way to becoming a legend in the annals of college coaching. He won national titles in 1963, 1969 and 1970.

Photo By ERIC GAY

Darrell Royal, shown in 1998, led UT to three national titles.

Coach Darrell Royal is carried from the field on the shoulders of Texas players following Texas' 42-7 triumph over Arkansas in Austin, Tx., in this Dec. 5, 1970 in Austin, Tx. (AP Photo/File)

Photo By David Nance

Texas A&M head football coach Emory Bellard, former football player Sammy Baugh, and University of Texas coach Darrell Royal at the Houston Touchdown Club meeting, Wednesday, November 27, 1974. David Nance / Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — Darrell Royal, the legendary coach who won three national championships, turned the wishbone offense into one of college football's most unstoppable forces and served as the face of the Texas Longhorns for more than a half-century, died Wednesday of complications of cardiovascular disease.

He was 88.

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Royal was not only a leader and innovator but also an ambassador of the game. His bits of wisdom included the phrases, "dance with the one who brung ya," and, "act like you've been there before." Even after retiring from coaching at the young age of 52, he remained one of the most adored and respected figures in the state throughout his life.

His name adorns the Longhorns' home football stadium, which has been known as Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium since 1996.

"He is Texas football," UT coach Mack Brown once said of Royal. "He's what put us on the map. He's our trademark. He's one of those handful of guys who've done more for college football than college football did for him."

Earlier this year, Royal and his wife Edith announced in the Texas Senate chamber he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was creating a research fund to fight the disease.

For the last months of his life, Royal and his wife lived in separate apartments at an Austin assisted-care facility. It was there that he died at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, a UT official said.

UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds said the school planned to light the campus tower orange Wednesday night to honor Royal. Tuesday, there will be a public memorial at the Erwin Center at noon.

During Saturday's UT football game against Iowa State, the Longhorns will wear "DKR" decals on their helmets and on their first play from scrimmage will line up in the wishbone formation Royal made famous.

""I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero," Brown said in a statement released by the school. "College football lost maybe its best ever, and the world lost a great man."

Royal is survived by his wife and a son, Mack. Two other children, Marian and David, preceded him in death.

Born in 1924 in Hollis, Okla., Royal played quarterback and defensive back for revered coach Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma. But after coaching stops at Mississippi State and Washington, he got his career break at archrival UT. In his first season in Austin in 1957, Royal led the Longhorns, who had gone 1-9 the year before, to the Sugar Bowl.

High, low of OU rivalryHe posted a 167-47-5 record in 20 years at UT and never endured a losing season. The Longhorns, who won 11 Southwest Conference titles during Royal's reign, won national championships in 1963, 1969 and 1970.

Along the way, he helped mold the lives and careers of countless players, including quarterback James Street, the man who engineered UT's dramatic 15-14 victory over Arkansas in the "Big Shootout," the 1969 game considered by some to be the greatest college football contest of the 20th century. After the Longhorns prevailed in the showdown of undefeated teams, President Richard Nixon went to the UT locker room and awarded Royal a national championship plaque.

Royal's first breakthrough at UT came in 1958. OU had beaten the Longhorns six consecutive times, and heading into the teams' annual clash in Dallas, the Sooners were ranked second in the nation. But Royal fired up his team, and the Longhorns beat OU 15-14, marking the beginning of an eight-game winning streak over the Sooners and the start of a dynasty.

Years later, Royal's wife said the significance of that first victory over his mentor could not be overstated.

"Darrell was thrilled after the 1958 game," Edith said in 2008. "He was very respectful when he talked to coach Wilkinson, but the minute he got on the plane with the players, there was a celebration all the way back to Austin. I remember we circled the (UT) tower when we got back."

A decade later, Royal had another watershed moment, this time when he instructed offensive coordinator Emory Bellard to come up with a triple-option attack for his team.

The result was the wishbone, the three-pronged running scheme that turned college football on its ear and propelled UT to the 1969 national title.

Royal was known for his sense of humor and endless witticisms. He said of a tough-but-slow-footed player, "He's not fast, but maybe Elizabeth Taylor can't sing," and defended his use of running plays by saying, "Three things can happen when you pass, and two of 'em are bad." He also was a stickler for hard work, famously pointing out "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

He finished his career with an overall record of 184-60-5, a mark that might have been even more impressive if he'd decided to coach longer. But in 1976, his final season, the Longhorns went 5-5-1, including a 6-6 tie against OU and coach Barry Switzer, whom Royal openly despised. Royal's wife said later that was "the most depressed (she'd) ever seen him after a game."

"Looking back over his career, I think he wanted that one win more than any one game he ever played," Edith said. "If the good Lord asked him what game he'd like to go back to that he didn't win, he'd pick that one."

Campus fixture after careerBut even though Royal retired a few months later, he did not fade away. He remained a regular fixture at UT and still gave speeches and appeared at fundraisers for 30 years after his retirement. When Brown was hired at UT before the 1998 season, he sought Royal's counsel and invited him to attend practices regularly, which Royal did for more than a decade. The two coaches became so close that Brown said Royal became "like an older brother to me."

Royal, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983, never thought the adulation was justified.

"The only thing that disturbs me about my profession is the fact that people give you too much credit when you win and too much criticism when you lose," he once said. "I'll be the same person and do the same things and say the same things when we lose. But people won't believe me then. I won't change, but the people will."